Fair Plays Claim 3rd Silver Ball Trophy

The Talbot Fair Plays returned to Mumford, NY to participate in the National Silver Ball Tournament and came away as champion for the third time. Genesee Country Village & Museum was the setting for the 14th annual event that featured 12 clubs from the U.S. and Canada. The two day event featured stormy weather on Saturday and plenty of great matchups throughout.
On Saturday the Fair Plays got off to a good start by defeating Northville Eclipse of Michigan by a score of 25-9. After a two hour break followed by a one hour rain delay the Talbot team took the field against the Victory Base Ball Club of Phelps, NY. The Victory Club got off to a fast start with 6 in the first inning and took an 8-0 lead before the Fair Plays broke through with 5 in the bottom of the third. After enduring two more short rain delays Talbot was able to tally 5 more runs before the game was halted by a nearby lightning strike with the Fair Plays getting a 10-8 decision in the rain-shortened contest.
Saturday’s third match saw the Fair Plays take on the Spring Creek Nine from western, NY. Talbot held an early lead but could not take advantage of an opportunity to widen the margin before the team from Spring Creek battled back. The game ended in a 5-5 tie after six innings after another storm quickly washed out the rest of the match.
Sunday morning the Fair Plays took on the local Flower City club. After leading for most of the contest the Fair Plays found themselves with a two run deficit heading to the bottom of the ninth after two late rallies from Flower City. Fortunately the Fair Plays found just enough timely hits combined with aggressive base running to score the decisive run with two outs and come away victorious by a score of 11-10. After sitting through another match to see if the boys from Talbot would get to play another game things fell just right and the Fair Plays were on their way to the championship match.
It seems fitting that the final match would feature the Fair Plays and Spring Creek, the only two teams without a loss, but who shared a tie the previous day. The Fair Plays left little to chance as they jumped out to a 9-1 lead after one inning before eventually securing the championship with an 18-10 victory. It was a tough weekend as the Fair Plays competed with some excellent ball clubs and the weather but had just enough good fortune to come home with the trophy in one of the finest vintage base ball events in the country.